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Monday, April 01, 2013

If you grew up in the 80s, there is no doubt that Devo's "Whip It" was on at least one of your homemade mixtapes. (Bonus points for holding your cassette recorder up to the radio/stereo speaker to record and praying that the DJ didn't talk over the intro.)

I am a child of the 80s. I am also a dork that gets bonus points for humming the synthesized beats of "Whip It" every time I add whipping cream to my Kitchenaid's mixing bowl and beat it into fluffy peaks of whipped cream.

Easter Sunday was no exception. I had baked pretty little phyllo nests brushed with butter and dusted with powdered sugar on Saturday. To make a type of modified strawberry shortcake, on Sunday morning I sliced strawberries, warmed honey, and whipped heavy whipping cream. I whipped it. I whipped it good.

Layered with drizzles of honey over the flaky phyllo dough, over the strawberries, and on top of the whipping cream, these individual desserts were a delicious and impressive final addition to my Easter dinner menu.

Defrost the frozen phyllo dough on counter top for 2 hours (or overnight in the fridge).

Preheat oven to 375degrees.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Carefully unroll the dough and remove the plastic wrapping.

Reroll the phyllo log and slice into 8 slices, approximately 1/2-inch each.

Unfurl the ribbons of dough from one of the slices onto a cutting board and arrange in parallel rows.

Brush the phyllo ribbons with melted butter and dust with powdered sugar.

Loosely gather together into a coil that resembles a nest. (be careful not to bunch too many layers in the middle, the nest will be tough instead of flaky)

Flip over and arrange on the parchment lined baking sheet.

Brush nest with additional butter as needed, and dust with again with powdered sugar.

Repeat with the ribbons of each of the remaining 7 slices of phyllo dough.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, until phyllo is golden and crispy.

Cool completely. (Can be done to this point the day before.)

Beat heavy cream with sugar in electric mixer until it forms soft peaks. (Whip it good.)

To serve, drizzle each phyllo nest with honey, top with generous dollop of whipped cream, drizzle again with honey, arrange strawberries on top of whipped cream, drizzle again with honey, and finish with small flourish of whipped cream and another drizzle of honey. (Can also layer strawberries on top of the phyllo nest for more strawberry punch.) Serves 8.

And...so you can also be a dork and hum "Whip It" while making your Strawberry Shortcake Nests...